Local lawmaker prefiles child support bill

Rep. Becky Nordgren

State Rep. Becky Nordgren is proposing a bill that would force Employers who pay workers under the table to become  liable for their employees' unpaid child support. Nordgren has pre-filed a bill that would allow a custodial parent to take a business to court if that parent is owed child support by an employee who's working an off-the-books job.  Nordgren  represents House District 29, which historically covered parts of Etowah and DeKalb counties, but now covers a swath of rural Calhoun County north of Jacksonville and Wellington. She faces Etowah County Coroner Michael Gladden, a Democrat, in the 2014 election.  Nordgren said she routinely fields complaints from mothers who report that their exes are working, getting paid in cash, and not passing that pay along in the form of court-ordered child support.  Nordgren said the bill, if it passed, could save the state money by bringing child support to working mothers who, without it, might need public assistance.  Nordgren's bill is pre-filed for introduction in the 2014 session of the Alabama Legislature, which begins in mid-January.